Asymmetric Aza-Claisen Rearrangement between Enantioenriched α-Chiral Allylamines and Allenones.

An unprecedented asymmetric aza-Claisen rearrangement between enantioenriched α-chiral allylamines and allenones was found to proceed in the absence of catalysts and additives at room temperature. The rearrangement, followed by hydrolysis, provides convenient access to structurally diverse δ-chiral ß-diketones in good to excellent yields with excellent retention of enantiopurity. This protocol proved powerful for the construction of an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter with high enantiopurity.

Electron Crystallography Reveals Atomic Structures of Metal-Organic Nanoplates with M12(µ3-O)8(µ3-OH)8(µ2-OH)6 (M = Zr, Hf) Secondary Building Units.

Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (nMOFs) have shown tremendous potential in cancer therapy and biomedical imaging. However, their small dimensions present a significant challenge in structure determination by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. We report here the structural determination of nMOFs by rotation electron diffraction (RED). Two isostructural Zr- and Hf-based nMOFs with linear biphenyldicarboxylate (BPDC) or bipyridinedicarboxylate (BPYDC) linkers are stable under intense electron beams to allow the collection of high-quality RED data, which reveal a MOF structure with M12(µ3-O)8(µ3-OH)8(µ2-OH)6 (M = Zr, Hf) secondary building units (SBUs). The nMOF structures differ significantly from their UiO bulk counterparts with M6(µ3-O)4(µ3-OH)4 SBUs and provide the foundation for clarifying the structures of a series of previously reported nMOFs with significant potential in cancer therapy and biological imaging. Our work clearly demonstrates the power of RED in determining nMOF structures and elucidating the formation mechanism of distinct nMOF morphologies.

Surface Modification of Two-Dimensional Metal-Organic Layers Creates Biomimetic Catalytic Microenvironments for Selective Oxidation.

Microenvironments in enzymes play crucial roles in controlling the activities and selectivities of reaction centers. Herein we report the tuning of the catalytic microenvironments of metal-organic layers (MOLs), a two-dimensional version of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with thickness down to a monolayer, to control product selectivities. By modifying the secondary building units (SBUs) of MOLs with monocarboxylic acids, such as gluconic acid, we changed the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity around the active sites and fine-tuned the selectivity in photocatalytic oxidation of tetrahydrofuran (THF) to exclusively afford butyrolactone (BTL), likely a result of prolonging the residence time of reaction intermediates in the hydrophilic microenvironment of catalytic centers. Our work highlights new opportunities in using functional MOLs as highly tunable and selective two-dimensional catalytic materials.

Catalytic allylation of stabilized phosphonium ylides with primary allylic amines.

A range of ketone-stabilized phosphonium ylides were allylated with high regioselectivity by primary allylic amines in the presence of 5 mol % Pd(PPh3)4 and 10 mol % B(OH)3, and subsequent one-pot Wittig olefination gave structurally diverse α,ß-unsaturated ketones in good to excellent overall yields with excellent E selectivity. The one-pot allylation/olefination reaction was extended to ester- and nitrile-stabilized phosphonium ylides by replacing B(OH)3 with TsOH, and the corresponding α,ß-unsaturated esters and nitriles were obtained in moderate overall yields.

Strain-release C-C bond cleavage enables the [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of tertiary allylamines.

A new strategy has been established for the [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of quaternary allylammonium ylides, generated in situ from tertiary allylamines and a bicyclo[1.1.0]butane via strain-release C-C bond cleavage. A range of tertiary allylamines with an acidic α-C-H bond participated in the 1-sulfonylbicyclo[1.1.0]butane-mediated [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, delivering structurally diverse N-cyclobutyl homoallylamines in moderate to excellent yields.

Nucleophilic addition of tertiary propargylic amines to arynes followed by a [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement.

In the presence of 2-(trimethylsilyl)aryl triflates as aryne precursors under mild conditions, a range of tertiary propargylic amines bearing electron-withdrawing groups were converted to quaternary propargylic ammonium ylides followed by a [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to afford structurally diverse amino-substituted allenes or conjugated dienes, depending on their structure, in moderate to good yields.

TfNHNHBoc as a SCF3 source for the sulfenylation of indoles.

An unprecedented use of trifluoromethanesulfonyl hydrazides as effective SCF3 sources has been established in the sulfenylation of indoles. A range of substituted indoles participated in CuCl-catalyzed oxidative sulfenylation reaction with TfNHNHBoc in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide to furnish structurally diverse 3-indolyl trifluoromethyl thioethers in moderate to good yields with very high regioselectivity.

Highly Active Hydrogen Evolution Electrodes via Co-Deposition of Platinum and Polyoxometalates.

A highly active hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrode with low Pt loading on glassy carbon (GC) has been prepared by anodic platinum dissolution and co-deposition of polyoxometalates. TEM, EDS, XPS, CV, and ICP-MS analyses gave a Pt loading of 50-100 ng/cm2, corresponding to a Pt coverage of only 0.08-0.16 monolayer. With an overpotential of 65 mV at 20 mA/cm2, the modified GC has a HER activity comparable to that of the commercial Pt working electrode.